Debates on government e-petitions

Download or read book Debates on government e-petitions written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-01-19 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whilst the Government's initiative of e-petitions is welcome in principle, there have been some practical problems with its operation. In this report two areas which need urgent attention have been addressed, the time for debate and public understanding of the process.The Committee recommends that a dedicated time slot be created for debates on subjects that are raised by e-petitions and propose that this is an extra sitting in Westminster Hall between 4.30 and 7.30 pm on a Monday. This would only take place if the Backbench Business Committee had scheduled a debate on the subject of an e-petition. This change would be experimental and its effectiveness be reviewed after one year.Many of the problems experienced by the Backbench Business Committee and by petitioners have arisen from a failure on the part of the Government to adequately explain the process to petitioners. The Committee recommends that the information on the Government's website should be made clearer and more accurate. When a petition has been signed by 100,000 people, the lead petitioner should be advised to find an MP who is willing to apply to the Backbench Business Committee for time for debate